WC Four-in-Hand Aachen | Dressage day 2: World-record-breaking test for Chester Weber; Germany in the lead

Fri 21 Aug, 19:44 Sport

After the first half of the dressage starting list competed yesterday, the remaining participants took to the beautiful grass of Stadium 2 today. Dries Degrieck had set the bar high yesterday, and spectators could look forward to a day featuring many more dressage specialists and impressive tests.

Just like yesterday, the weather remained dry for most of the day, and the first four-in-hand team drove onto the grass at 10:30 AM. Poland’s Piotr Mazurek kicked off the day, posting a score of 62.70.

Anna Mareike Meier was the first to reach the low-40s range; with 40.99 penalty points, she secured a top spot in the standings.

New world record!!

At 11:47 AM, the entire stadium fell silent in anticipation of Chester Weber’s entry. From the moment he entered the arena, his plan was clear: to deliver a truly top-class test. Focused and confident, with the reins held loosely in his hands, he drove a team displaying remarkable lightness and elegance. Driving seemed to require no effort at all, and Chester delivered a phenomenal performance. His perfectly trained horses didn’t put a foot wrong, allowing the judges to award plenty of eights, nines, and tens. Overjoyed with his performance, Chester set a new world record score of 30.40 points!

What would Boyd Exell do?

Fredrik Persson, driving after Chester, must have been inspired by his predecessor; he too delivered a very polished test, finishing with a score in the low 40s (41.45).

Everyone was on the edge of their seat when Boyd Exell drove in. Would he manage to beat Chester? Boyd drove a fantastic test with a keen eye for detail; The horses moved as a team; in every turn, the outside horses would pull slightly to ensure all their noses exited the turn simultaneously, and they covered plenty of ground during the walk sections. All the judges agreed that Boyd had driven the best test after Chester, scoring 31.86 points—that is how close the scores were. What a battle, and what a wonderful day for everyone who follows the drivers and the sport so passionately.

‘Maestro’ Mark Wentein

Glenn Geerts followed shortly after Boyd, delivering a very strong performance with a score of 46.05. National coach Mark Wentein seemed to conduct the test like a maestro, signaling the three-step backward movement: “1-2-3, stop!” he directed with satisfied hand gestures. Immediately afterwards, the crowd was treated to another magnificent test—this time by Bram Chardon, whose horses seem to execute collection and extension better as a team with every competition. He finished with a total of 40.05 points, an excellent starting position for tomorrow’s marathon and the cones competition, in which he is a specialist.

Anna Sandmann also demonstrated increasing progress in the four-in-hand class with every competition. She delivered the best performance for the German team, achieving a score that placed her just ahead of Dries Degrieck; with 38.32 penalty points, she drove to fourth place.

Franck Grimonprez: From Pair to Four-in-Hand

French pair driver Franck Grimonprez ventured into competitive four-in-hand driving this year, specifically for this World Championship. He visibly enjoyed his test, driving with a beaming smile. He also secured an impressive eighth place with a score of 43.52, practically dancing his way out of the arena on the carriage.

Victory went to Chester, with Boyd in second place and Dries in third. An interesting detail is that Chester Weber also won the dressage phase at the 2006 World Equestrian Games, which were held in Aachen just as they are now. History has repeated itself!

Top 5 Nations Competition Closely Contested

The German team is in the lead, thanks to the counting scores of Anna Mareike Meier and Anna Sandmann. They achieved a combined dressage total of 79.31 points. The Australian two-man team—Boyd Exell and Tor Van Den Berge—sits in second place following two superbly driven dressage tests and a score of 81.17 penalty points. They are closely followed by the USA (81.84 penalty points), with Chester Weber and Taren Lester providing the counting scores.

Belgium follows in fourth place, just one point behind, thanks to the strong scores of Dries Degrieck and Glenn Geerts; they are closely trailed by the Netherlands in fifth place (84.83 penalty points), represented by the father-and-son duo of IJsbrand and Bram Chardon. For instance, the gap between first and fifth place is just over five points, and anything could happen tomorrow in the marathon (and on Sunday in the cones competition).